Pivoted tool for bending the edge of a panel about a supporting flange



Feb. 17, 1948. E. WILLETT PIVOTED TOOL FOR BENDING THE EDGE OF A PANEL ABOUT A SUPPQRTING FLANGE Filed June 9, 1945 tions of the parts duri Patented Feb. 17, 1948 mm rom. FOR'BENDING THE EDGE or A PANEL ABOUT A SUPPORTING I FLANGE Leon E. Willett, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Chamberlin Company of America, Detroit, Mich. a

corporation of Michigan Application June 9, 1945', Serial No. 598,510 2 Claims. (01. 153-46) This invention relates tojforming tools or imple'rne'nts, and moreparticularly to a'special implement utilized for bending orforming the edge portions of a metal sheet or panel around the edge 'of a wall, flange or'other'support with which the sheetor panel'i's to be' assembled.

Qn'e object of the'inventionis to provide a simple and highly effective tool forthe purpose, capable of convenient operation by an operator working at anassembly bench or table. and adapted to produce a, relatively permanent assembly of the parts worked uponin a manner to hold the "sheet orpanel flat and taut in its final position. a

Still another ob'ject is to'provide an implement of this kind capable of'bein'g moved along the work while lying on the bench, and arranged when operated'to firmly hold the work'and tool in proper relative positions, insuring uniform product y V Further objects of the invention in part are obvious andin part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In'the drawings,

li'ig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one suitable embodiment of the invention, part of a clamping frame'beingornitted; and

' Figs. 2, 3 and 4 aresimilar sectional elevations, all on the line 22, Fig.1, showing the tool applied to the work and illustrating various posie I peration.

'While the implement 1 adapted for use in attaching any sheet'to afsupporting wall, flange or the like, it is intendedmoreparticularly for use duringjthemanufacture,andassembly of a certain type of protective screen" such as shown, described, and claimed, 'forei'zam-ple, in my 'appli cation forProtective screen, flled'May 4, 1945, Serial No. 591,983,-to which reference may be had, if desirable or necessary. The screen of said applicationineludesstationary and movable sheet metalframe members hingedtogether, the stationary member supporting a wire mesh screen panel. The 'drawingshere show only the movable frame member, marked lgenerally I0, made of fairly heavy sheet metal bent to the cross section shown and including aflat base or face portion 1 I an outer cross flange or wall] 2,. an inner inclined wall l3 and a turn supporting flange I l. The sheet or panel to-be secured'to the flange I4 is indicated at l5. It consists of wirescreen made of any suitable strong. ,material, .such as is beyond the strength of the fingers and almost impossible with any ordinary tools, especially since the flange I6 isbent underneath supporting flange l4 and into a recess or cavity H where manipulation is difficult. The present implement solves all of the difficulties heretofore encountered in assembling these screen parts.

The implement comprises a suitable frame, marked generally 18,- including L-shaped side members "I 9 connected at one end,-as by welding, to a cross bar 20, of angle form, having a bottom flange 200, which serves as a presser to hold the work down, and at their other ends by a second angle member 2 l which servesasa, pressure abutment and tool locator hyits engagement, when the tool is in working position, as shown in Fig. 2; with the inner surfaces of the frame base H and cross wall l2.- the side members I9 is mounted a cross shaft 22 supporting the side arms 23 of a yoke provided *at one end with a handle 24 and connected atitheir'opposite ends by a forming or bending memberfir This is elongated laterally, say four to six in'ches in length, and of uniform cross section from endftoend. It has a foot portion 26 and a recess or channel?! having a curved concave surface28, as shown.

In use of the implement, the movable member of a rectangular screen frame of the form shown in said copending application is laid upon a'work bench, table or other support, indicated conventionally at 30, with thecavity in the frame opening upwardly and with its cross wall I2 parallel to and near the edge of the table, asshown in Fig. 2. A plain rectangular wire cloth panel, cut to proper size but with its'edges unbent is then laid in place upon-the frame member, the edges of such panel extending beyond the edges of the return, flange Hiyas shown. The'tcol or implement describe-d'isthen laid in place, with its yoke and handle members extending upwardly and backwardly as shown. ln'this position the angle 2i of the framei'ests in the angle between thebase ll and cross wall l2,-;while the cross shaft 22'lies 'just above'the edge of the return flange i l. The toe' of the foot '26 is above and near the outer "edge 'ofjthe' wire cloth panel. Pressure is applied to the toolfto hold it down and the operating handle is" moved toward-the operasteel Wire lof high tensile strength. Stainless steelmayfbeem'ployed but is onessential, .The screen' is intended to be so strong as to efiectively resist attempts to outer br'e'akit, (Consequently,

techie. ant-edge "peruse of this wire panel (5 around the flaiig M to' form'the return flange iii tor, firstlto the position shown in Fig. 3 and finally down to hori zontalgposition as shown in Fig. 4. During thismovement the toe engages the free flange of thewire paneland bends it around the returnfla-nge M at the frame member. In the final position ofthe parts the concave surface of the channelifl closely hugs the return of the wire screen and tightly-pinches it, establishing a permanentsetand securingjtheedge of the wire anel to'the-supporting flange l4.

in place by a similar operation, and 'so on repeatedly entirely around the frame.

Usually the wire panel is secured to the frame member first along one edge and then along its opposite parallel edge, after which the two remaining edges are secured in order in like manner.

If the wire or the panel is not too stron and" 4 with an elongated frame member of hollow chambered form provided with a base which along one edge supports a, flange lying in a plane parallel with the base but spaced therefrom to provide an open cavity, and which along its opposite edge supports a wall lying opposite the open cavity, comprising a support, a presser member mounted thereon and adapted to engage the upper surface 1 of a panel lying upon said flange, an abutment member depending from i said support and adapted to extend downwardly heavy the downward pressure of the operator upon the operating handle may be suflicient to hold the tool down to the work, but, as a general rule, I prefer to provide the tool with any suitable hold-down means. In the arrangement shown I secure to each side of the frame, as by welding,a

plate member 3| extending forwardly beyond the edge of the table and provided with a depending portion 32. I These two depending parts may be attached in any suitable manner to a device by means of which the operator may apply downward tension with his foot, such as a foot treadle mounted upona' part of the: table or even upon the floor. In the drawings, for simplicity of illustration, I show the two members 32 provided with extensions33connected by dependinglink 30 to the treadle 35 on which the operator can place his foot for exerting holding pressure. I

Of course a tool of this kind must be designed and proportioned for use according to the shape, size and proportions of .the particular screen frame with which it is designed to be used. That is particularly true with respect to the position and relative relation of the pressure abutment angle member '2l and the cross shaft 22.v But, if desired, where screen frames of different width are to be worked upon, the side members 19 may be provided with several holes 36, in any pair of which the shaft may be mounted, as will be readily understood.

The implement described is of simple form but is highly eflicient in operation. Since the wire screen is heavy and strong it lies flat in its unbent condition and the act of bending its edges around the holding flanges I 4 applies tension to the wire cloth, and the permanent assembly maintains that tension.

Cross bar 20 operates as a clamp or anchor to confine and hold down the wire screen panel during the bending. operation, while the angle member 2| not only serves as a guide to correctly locate the apparatus with reference to the work, but also as a pressure abutment or fulcrum to hold the tool frame stationary and transmit pressure to the baseand cross flange of the frame member being operated upon. The formingmember isv elongated to extend along a reasonable length of the work and turns about paratus-for assemblin'ga bendable panel into the chamber of the frame and engage its base and wall, and'a forming lever pivoted in- 1 ;-the support on an axis parallel to and above the 15" lower surface of the presser member and betweensaid 'presser and abutment members and pro-- vided with a rigid elongated bending foot hav-' ing a toe portion adapted upon swinging move-- ment of the forming lever foot downwardly be-- tween the presser and abutment members to) thereby engage an edge portion of the panel andbend the same around the edge of the frame flange and through said opening into said cavity to a position in which it is in close contact with the lower surface of said flange and is concealed from view. Y

2. Apparatus for assembling a bendable panel with an elongated frame member of hollow chambered form provided-with a base which flange, an abutment member depending from said support and adapted to extend downwardly into the chamber of the frame and engage its base and wall, and a forming lever pivoted in the support on an axis parallel to and above the lower surface of the presser member and between said presser and abutment members and provided with a rigid elongated bending foot having a toe portion laterally offset from and extending endwise beyond the lever pivot, said lever also having an open ended channel lying between its pivotal axis and said foot, said toe portion being adapted upon swinging movement of the forming lever foot downwardly between the presser and abutment members to thereby engage an edge portion of the panel and bend the same around the edge of the frame flange and through said opening into said cavity to a position in which it is in close contactwith the lower surface of said flange and is concealed from view and the bend in said panel lies within the lever channel and is applied to the flange by lever pressure based by said abutment member upon the frame wall.

LEON E. W'ILLETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 386,124 'Hainsworth July 17, 1888 808,672 Mobley Jan. 2, 1906 1,054,675 Cofiman Mar. 4, 1913 2,272,740 Fader Feb, 10, 1942 2,350,530 Pickard June 6,1944 2,410,120

McDonnell et a1. oti 29. 1946 

